Untitled

Since the 1980s, Blair has created meticulous gouache paintings of unprepossessing subjects, such as a cocktail glass on a bar or the linear demarcations of parking spots on concrete ground. He has sometimes incorporated these works into multi-part installations of mundane objects, which he likens to the Japanese practice of Ikebana, flower arranging. Windows are one of his most frequent subjects. Often cropped to include little or none of their frames, they are ideal vehicles for his explorations of light and reflection. In Untitled, 2006, a diaphanous curtain both conceals and reveals a window that is illuminated by an orange glow--headlights, perhaps--from outside. Blair's skillful manipulation of gouache creates an ethereal picture surface.